It has been my pleasure and honour to create the exclusive poster artwork Extensions of the Heart (Stoloff / Hancock) and to contribute as a Musician, for the SGI-UK supported  UNESCO International Jazz Day event –

                                                                                      “Ode to the Human Spirit 2014” 

Featuring: The Human Revolution Orchestra and special guests April 30^th 2013  at Kings Place, 90 York Way London N1 9AG

“Music is an extension of the Heart” Herbie Hancock

To celebrate UNESCO World Jazz Day 2014, an initiative led by world- renowned jazz musician and SGI member Herbie Hancock, SGI-UK will present a concert featuring The Human Revolution Orchestra, a specially formed big band comprising of some of the finest jazz musicians in the UK and very special guests including multi-reed artist/Composer and SGI USA pioneer Bennie Maupin known best for his work with Herbie Hancock (Headhunters) and Miles Davis (Bitches Brew), renowned U.S pianist Marc Cary, and UK vocalists Lianne Carroll and Randolph Matthews.

The event seeks to celebrate jazz as a symbol of unity and peace: its universalism and inclusivity, freedom of expression, artistic innovation, and the opportunity it gives for mutual understanding, principles on which the formation of The Human Revolution Orchestra is based.

The Human Revolution Orchestra’s repertoire features classics from the American big band tradition along with compositions and arrangements by guest composers Pete Long, Paul Hart, Marc Cary, and pieces featuring big band and strings by Bennie Maupin which will be played for the first time in the UK.

Following an inspiring event held at SGI UK’s South London National Centre in Brixton in 2013, which perfectly embodied the spiritual and cultural objectives of the day, SGI members and professional musicians Sean Corby and Neville Murray have again put together an ensemble including some of the UK’s finest jazz musicians drawn from across the UK scene- young emerging stars, respected leaders, and alumni from Jazz Warriors, Loose Tubes, and NYJO.

“Jazz has been a force for positive social transformation throughout its history, and it remains so today. This is why UNESCO created International Jazz Day. From its roots in slavery, this music has raised a passionate voice against all forms of oppression. It speaks a language of freedom that is meaningful to all cultures. The same goals guide UNESCO in its efforts to build bridges of dialogue and understanding between all cultures and societies.”

Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General

SGI-UK

Soka Gakkai International is a lay Buddhist network dedicated to personal inner-change and social contribution in 192 countries and territories. Rooted in the life affirming philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism, members of SGI share a commitment to the promotion of peace, culture and education.

As a non-governmental organisation (NGO) with formal ties to the UN, SGI is active in the fields of humanitarian relief and public education, with a focus on peace, sustainable development and human rights.

Book Tickets – http://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on-book-tickets/music/ode-to-the-human-spirit#.UzArQq1_vtF

Bennie Maupin – http://benniemaupinmusic.com/ 

Marc Cary – http://marccary.com/

Press – www.jazzwisemagazine.com/news-mainmenu-139/72-2014/13017-jazz-breaking-news-ode-to-the-human-spirit-celebrates-international-jazz-day-with-bennie-maupin-and-marc-cary-while-courtney-pine-heads-to-osaka

Human Revolution Orchestra – www.facebook.com/pages/The-Human-Revolution-Orchestra/1456873824524896

For further information contact: 

Lisa Cowan – Lisa.cowan@sgi-uk.org

Sean Corby – freedominstructure@yahoo.co.uk

The Human Revolution Orchestra is:

Trumpets: Noel Langley, Yazz Ahmed, John Eacott, Sean Corby

Saxophones: Tony Kofi, Christian Brewer, Martin Speake, Nadim Teimoori, Dai Pritchard, Gemma Moore

Trombones: Richard Edwards, Harry Brown, Ed Rieband, Jon Enright

Piano: Simon Purcell

Bass: Larry Bartley

Drums: Rod Young and Cosimo Keita Cadore

Percussion: Neville Murray, Graeme Evelyn and Dave Pattman

Guitar: Carl Orr

SGI UK Strings

Special Guests: Bennie Maupin, Marc Cary, Lianne Carroll and Randolph Matthews

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Groundbreaking art installation sheds new light on historic sculpture at Kensington Palace

Call and Responses: The Odyssey of the Moor, a new commission for Historic Royal Palaces and the Royal Collection Trust, will be on display at the Queen’s State Apartments in Kensington Palace, London, from September 25, 2013 to January 6, 2014.

 The work is a response by visual artist Graeme Mortimer Evelyn to Dutch master sculptor John van Nost’s Bust of the Moor – an astonishingly beautiful and lavishly expensive sculpture commissioned by King William III in around 1689.

 The bust, made from layered, coloured marbles and semi-precious stones, depicts a black servant dressed in ‘Oriental’ fashion, but with an unmistakable slave collar. It is the only existing example of Van Nost’ use of polychromatic sculpture. There is a mystery that surrounds the commission, since a contradiction lies between King William III’s Protestant Calvinist austerity and the material expense of the work depicting the social position of the sculpture’s subject as that of a slave. The Bust of the Moor has consistently been considered by the Crown as one of the treasures of the Royal Collection and is the earliest recorded object within Kensington Palace.

Evelyn’s large installation re-imagines lost narratives that may have led to King William III commissioning this exquisite and mysterious artwork. He places the bust within a man-size gilded birdcage, but with its doors flung open to capture the view over Kensington Gardens. The birdcage is a reflection on Queen Mary’s collection of exotic birds that were housed within the Queens Gallery at Kensington Palace. He creates for the Moor a dream of self-determination and freedom. Call and Responses – The Odyssey of the Moor is an enquiry into structures of physical space, social strata and philosophical ideas on human nature and survival. This engaging work opens up untold stories and access to a nationally renowned historic palace.

Evelyn has worked in collaboration with staff at Historic Royal Palaces and the Royal Collection Trust, with support from Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts. Joanna Marschner, Senior Curator, Kensington Palace said: “Kensington Palace welcomes this opportunity to work with a thoughtful young artist. Youthful eyes draw new truths from the amazing historic treasures in our charge”

Graeme Mortimer Evelyn is a British artist of Jamaican heritage. In 2012 Evelyn produced the exhibition Out of Many, One for Jamaica’s 50th anniversary at the Jamaican High Commission during the London Olympics. The display explored notions of identity and belonging that have helped to inform the Call and Responses project for Kensington Palace.

He has developed a reputation for creating art in places of worship, public buildings and museums that subvert these settings – inspired by his research and the re-creation of alternative histories and mythologies.

Evelyn is an artist with other notable firsts. In January 2011, as inaugural Artist-in-Residence at St Stephen’s Church, Bristol, he unveiled the permanent contemporary altarpiece, the Reconciliation Reredos. Built in the 14th Century, St Stephen’s is one of the oldest churches in Bristol and is of national and international significance as the church that blessed every ship that left the port, including every Transatlantic Slave Trade vessel that left the city. Evelyn is the first artist of African Diaspora heritage to produce such a permanent work in an historic church in Europe.

He said: “It is an honour to be afforded the opportunity to work with this treasure from the Royal Collection. It was a privilege to reinterpret the space within the Queen’s State Apartments, with the intention of creating a powerfully engaging work with a challenging history highlighting universal themes.”

Call and Responses: The Odyssey of the Moor – 25 September 2013 until 6 January 2014, Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace: www.hrp.org.uk/NewsAndMedia/kpresources/graememortimerevelyninstallation

Artist contact: info@graemeevelyn.com

Artist website: www.graemeevelyn.com

Artist Twitter: @graemeevelyn

For more information regarding the Bust of the Moor

www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/1396/bust-of-a-moor

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/exhibitions/treasures-from-the-queens-palaces

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ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND GRANTS FOR THE ARTS AWARD CONFIRMS SUPPORT FOR SITE SPECIFIC INTERVENTION AND CONTEMPORARY ENGAGEMENT INSTALLATION CALL AND RESPONSES – THE ODYSSEY OF THE MOOR FOR KENSINGTON PALACE LONDON!

The Call and Responses project is in partnership and enjoys the support from Historic Royal Palaces and The Royal Collection for the exhibition expected autumn 2013 for the Queen’s Gallery at Kensington Palace.

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Exhibited five major works at the latest Lyes & Jones show State of the Art in Hoxton, London in November 14 2012

The painted relief sculpture Treasuring our Differences was sold during the exhibition.

* Soiree du Coeur   61cm x 178cm 2012

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